John Cena will make his last WWE appearance next month. WWE

WWE To Follow John Cena's Last Madison Square Garden Show With Major NXT Taping

Originally posted on Wrestling on SI | By Jon Alba | Last updated Oct 3, 2025 12:31 PM ET

John Cena's final WWE appearance at Madison Square Garden is set for next month, and WWE will be making an event around the occasion.

The company announced on Friday morning that WWE NXT will return to The Theater at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 18 for a live edition of NXT. The show will go down one day after Cena's final appearance at the "World's Most Famous Arena" with WWE.

NXT Champion Ricky Saints, NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne, NXT North American Champion Ethan Page, NXT Women’s North American Champion Sol Ruca, and Trick Williams are currently advertised for the event.

Notably, Williams is not listed as the TNA World Champion in the listing, and he will have a match with Mike Santana at TNA's Bound For Glory pay-per-view on Oct. 12.

This will be the promotion's second time running The Theater at Madison Square Garden this year, as it also did so back in March. That show saw The Hardys return to WWE, defeating Fraxiom on that episode of NXT in a non-title match. The Hardys will now look to win the NXT Tag Team Championship from DarkState at NXT vs. TNA Showdown this coming Tuesday.

Cena's Farewell Tour

WWE

Meanwhile, Cena's farewell tour ahead of his retirement from WWE is entering its final stages, with the end very much in sight.

It was recently announced that his final match will take place in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 13, which won the bidding rights to that particular Saturday Night's Main Event show over Boston and other cities. WWE was said to have been asking for major financial concessions in the bidding process, including some it typically never had before.

As of now, Cena currently has five dates left on his WWE run, all of which will be major shows. He is set to face AJ Styles at Crown Jewel in Perth, Australia next week, then will make his final appearance in Boston on Nov. 10 on Monday Night Raw. That will be followed by the Madison Square Garden Raw show that he will also be on, and Survivor Series on Nov. 29 in San Diego.